An Ordinary Person

A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex

By Chris Jericho with Peter Thomas Fornatale (a Book Review)

A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex is a laugh-out-loud funny, amusing, insightful and highly enjoyable chronicle of Chris Jericho’s life and career in pro wrestling from his days as a teenaged wrestling fan in the 1980s to his debut in the World Wrestling Federation as Y2J in 2000.

The book is part autobiography; part “how to make it in Life” success story; and part amusing road stories of life as a pro wrestler. It has plenty of interesting nuggets of information about pro wrestling stars, promoters, promotions, and the various characters that inhabit that world past and present.

The book vividly describes Jericho’s adventures on his journey to becoming a pro wrestling star from the time he first stepped into the Hart Brothers Pro Wrestling Camp in 1990 (a converted bowling alley which, incidentally, did not have any Hart Brothers except for the first day when Keith Hart collected their money) to the various stops he made in the Canadian wrestling scene, the small-town circuit in the U.S. territories, Mexico, Germany, and Japan. The book’s last chapters culminate with his tenure at the largest North American promotions: Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and finally, his debut for the World Wrestling Federation.

EMLL in Mexico; the CWA in Germany; CNWA and Stampede Wrestling in Canada; WAR, FMW and New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japan; Smoky Mountain Wrestling, ECW, WCW, and the WWF in North America; and various small town operations in between—Jericho takes the reader on a fascinating tour of the pro wrestling business of the 1990s. From his early days wrestling in a freezing barn for a glass of orange juice and a hot dog; to when he proudly returned to his hometown, Winnipeg, wrestling at a TV taping with his mother and childhood friends in attendance; to becoming a heartthrob for a national promotion in Mexico; making a name for himself in Japan against the top light-heavyweights in the world; and finally breaking through in the North American scene in ECW; the frustrations of the highly politicized NWO-era WCW; to his WWF debut verbally jousting with The Rock.

Along the way Jericho introduces his witty, self-effacing, and wise-cracking perspectives and observations on comrades, enemies, bosses, and Life in general. Familiar names who make an appearance include Lance Storm, Rick Steamboat, Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Paul Heyman, Jim Cornette, King Tonga, Rey Mysterio, Jr., Hulk Hogan, Stu Hart, Jesse Ventura, Owen Hart, Bill Goldberg, Ralphus, Bret Hart, the NWO, Scott Hall, Eric Bischoff, Vince McMahon. It is fascinating to get Jericho’s take on these people in his life and how their paths intersected with his career.

Equally fascinating is Jericho’s take on the international scene with characters that are probably less familiar to the casual North American fan (but are more familiar with hardcore fans): Atsushi Onita, Jushin Liger, Shinjiro Ohtani, Koji Kanemoto, Genichiro Tenryu, Hector Guerrero, Negro Casas, El Dandy, Antonio Inoki, Ultimo Dragon, Art Barr, Team No Respect, Los Gringos Locos, Jado, Gedo, Norman Smiley, Miguel Perez, Jose Estrada, Mil Mascaras, Vampiro Canadiense, etc.

Some interesting facts about Jericho that I found out from reading the book:

• He is a lifelong Christian who is serious about his faith
• His mother was paralyzed in a car accident when he was a teenager
• Vampiro Canadiense, Mil Mascaras and Scott Hall acted like jerks towards Chris at some points in his career
• Chris taught himself how to read Japanese and became a communications liaison to the Japanese promotions he worked for in addition to being a wrestler
• Chris was a highly imaginative teenager and put together the BTWF—the Big Time Wrestling Federation—with his friends and had matches, storylines, championships and even a newsletter.
• He plays bass and has played in numerous rock bands from his teenage years to adulthood

If I were to say anything critical about the book, it seems thin on his personal life and relationships except for his teenaged years. We only get to know his mother, father and wife in a very cursory way and learn absolutely nothing about his three children. To me, that is OK as I was more than satisfied with the aspects of his life that Jericho shared in his wrestling career. He is entitled to keep certain aspects of his life private, after all.

Some readers may also find how Chris Benoit is portrayed surreal or even disturbing. Throughout the book, Chris Benoit’s positive influence on him as a professional and a role model rings throughout. There is even a picture of Jericho posing with Benoit, Nancy Benoit, and Stu Hart at Owen Hart’s funeral. The only allusion that Chris makes to the tragedy of how Chris and Nancy Benoit’s lives ended was in the author’s note in the beginning of the book.

All in all, I found Chris Jericho’s book to be highly enjoyable and a great addition to my library. I have books by the Dynamite Kid, Mick Foley and Ric Flair—all excellent and highly treasured. A Lion’s Tale stands with them as a proud addition to my collection.

UPDATE: Here’s an excellent review of the book from the Baltimore Sun

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